Before you get too excited about it, what I did was I brewed up some 2011 Jin and put it inside a thermo flask without any tea leaves inside the flask. I went out and carried the flask with me and by the time I'm home in the evening, I still have half a flask of tea left. Then I poured it in a cup and noticed the changes of colour.

It tastes different and difficult to describe but without any sign of "wet storage". The body and texture are still there.

I have noticed that even the newest pu leaves make a soup that darkens to near black over the course of a day or so, if left to sit and not drunk. Also spills leave the darkest (but easy to scrub up) stains on the countertop.

I just started recently drinking pu-erh for health, and due to my body condition shu will be better. So I'm not sure if what I'd experience is correct.

I'd been brewing a cheap 8year old brick 善诚-老樟香. It tasted horrible (to me) at first, but after leaving pieces of it to awaken in a box for 2-3days. It's drinkable.

Normally I'll flash rinse 3 times for a 6-7g in 100ml gaiwan, then drink the steepings from then on. I normally just drink 2-3 steeps, the rest I'll just do steeping practise and pour the liquor in a flask and drink it in the evening.

In the evening the tea actually feels more smooth and almost no rough sensation (plantation?) in the throat. Kinda have a more mellow feel to it and a little more "sweet". It feels kinda close to those 22+yr old bricks my parents gotten back from China from "Tea Doctor", but the flavour cannot compare. I never did compare the color.

Is that what shu will become after it's been aged? Personally I enjoy that tea more in the evening than in the afternoon.

apache wrote:It tastes different and difficult to describe but without any sign of "wet storage". The body and texture are still there.

Can you give a rough description of what differences showed up?

My taste might be "affected" by what I saw, but I think some sharp edges have gone, dare I say floral notes diminished. Texture stays more less the same, huigan is still there, but I think there is no aged taste you would find in a real aged pu.

I don't know how Dayi 2011 Jin will age, but I think it would be interesting to try it out on other pu I know which didn't age much or "oolong pu".

lordsbm wrote:I just started recently drinking pu-erh for health, and due to my body condition shu will be better. So I'm not sure if what I'd experience is correct.

I'd been brewing a cheap 8year old brick 善诚-老樟香. It tasted horrible (to me) at first, but after leaving pieces of it to awaken in a box for 2-3days. It's drinkable.

Normally I'll flash rinse 3 times for a 6-7g in 100ml gaiwan, then drink the steepings from then on. I normally just drink 2-3 steeps, the rest I'll just do steeping practise and pour the liquor in a flask and drink it in the evening.

In the evening the tea actually feels more smooth and almost no rough sensation (plantation?) in the throat. Kinda have a more mellow feel to it and a little more "sweet". It feels kinda close to those 22+yr old bricks my parents gotten back from China from "Tea Doctor", but the flavour cannot compare. I never did compare the color.

Is that what shu will become after it's been aged? Personally I enjoy that tea more in the evening than in the afternoon.

I think the most likely effect on aging shu is fishy taste will diminish after a few years. However, for some shu if it's been through wet storage, date flavour would also appear. Some people like this date taste, but personally, I'm not that keen.

apache wrote:I think the most likely effect on aging shu is fishy taste will diminish after a few years. However, for some shu if it's been through wet storage, date flavour would also appear. Some people like this date taste, but personally, I'm not that keen.

So wet stored shu gives the date (jujube right?) taste. I'd yet tasted that flavour yet, thinking of ordering those chen xiang 2000 bricks to see if I like it.

The new shu normal "fishy" taste don't seems to affect me, but that rough taste (don't really know how else to describe) is a put off for me. Also that "burnt" taste.

But leaving the tea in the flask after hours do make it more smooth and "sweeter" to me. Maybe it is just in my head lol

Normally jujube flavour (枣香) is used as dried jujube is common ingredient used by the Chinese. I guess it's the same as fishy smell, as salted fish will smell similiar (if not same) and it's loved by the Chinese. Maybe that's why the fishy smell of never bothered me as it's very mild compared to the salted fish which I love

To my understanding other interesting flavour that can developed during aging of shu would be 糯香 (glutinous rice?). 兰香 and mint flavour can delveloped during aging of sheng. At least that's what I'd heard before. Will be trying to educate my senses by getting these natural flavour known bing/brick/tou.

Bamboo and other odd flavour are likely introduced directly or indirectly, like from bamboo wrapper/basket.

I still don't understand what cheng xiang flavour is. Would that be musty, herbal or that ohm qi aftertaste (sorry don't know how else to describe).

There's still a lot to learn as I'd only started drink for less than a month and had only tasted 3 different shu bricks, 1 loose leaves and 1 tin. So whatever I'd said could be incorrect. Newbies please don't take what I'd said as reference. We'll end up blind leading the blind

Tea liquor oxidizes to a darker color when it sits in a cup, or in my thermos, and the flavor shifts a bit. Green teas and white teas tend to go flat or sometimes bitter--unpleasant earthy/bitter notes that may overwhelm the fruity/floral/grassy notes that made the tea attractive in the first place. I often find that earthy shu puerhs get smoother and sweeter; sheng pu can get better (smoother/sweeter/mellower) or worse (bitter/oxidized/flat). I wouldn't think is a reliable method of 'aging' the flavor of a tea, but it definitely benefits some teas quite a bit.

Normally jujube flavour (枣香) is used as dried jujube is common ingredient used by the Chinese. I guess it's the same as fishy smell, as salted fish will smell similiar (if not same) and it's loved by the Chinese. Maybe that's why the fishy smell of never bothered me as it's very mild compared to the salted fish which I love

To my understanding other interesting flavour that can developed during aging of shu would be 糯香 (glutinous rice?). 兰香 and mint flavour can delveloped during aging of sheng. At least that's what I'd heard before. Will be trying to educate my senses by getting these natural flavour known bing/brick/tou.

Bamboo and other odd flavour are likely introduced directly or indirectly, like from bamboo wrapper/basket.

I still don't understand what cheng xiang flavour is. Would that be musty, herbal or that ohm qi aftertaste (sorry don't know how else to describe).

There's still a lot to learn as I'd only started drink for less than a month and had only tasted 3 different shu bricks, 1 loose leaves and 1 tin. So whatever I'd said could be incorrect. Newbies please don't take what I'd said as reference. We'll end up blind leading the blind

If I remember correctly, I think both "dates" taste similar even though in term of phylogeny they are miles apart.

I have no problem with salted fish, the fishy taste I refered to here is the taste you would have if you go to the dentist have some major operation and your mouth is filled with blood, that the fishy taste I mean and even think about it makes me feel sick!

Don't worry about blind leading the blind, as there must be more than one way to be enlightened and lead on to puerh tea Nirvana.

apache wrote:If I remember correctly, I think both "dates" taste similar even though in term of phylogeny they are miles apart.

I have no problem with salted fish, the fishy taste I refered to here is the taste you would have if you go to the dentist have some major operation and your mouth is filled with blood, that the fishy taste I mean and even think about it makes me feel sick!

Don't worry about blind leading the blind, as there must be more than one way to be enlightened and lead on to puerh tea Nirvana.

The dates actually taste different. One is 红枣 hongzao (jujuba) which is more sun dried or dehydrated fruit taste, can taste a bit herbal which is mainly used with herbs or in herbal soup. The other is 蜜枣 mizao (dactylifera) which is sweeter, normally used in dessert soup.

So the fishy taste you refer to is like rotten meat or bad blood... I'd yet encountered that, but I will sooner or later

I'm just looking at better health with pu-erh, at the same time learning to enjoy the taste and knowledge that comes with it.

My dad had cholesterol and quite bad gout issue with one of his leg. In traditional Chinese medicine, the ideal time for him to drink is 3-5pm daily. He drank pu-erh daily at that timing for half a year.

His cholesterol is in check despite no change in his diet. But what surprise me is that he can now take moderate amount of beans, carrots, etc. These are stuffs that can make his gout come back the following day and can last for weeks.

Pardon me that I went off topic, but just wanted to share how good pu-erh is